Poetry and Friends

I gotta say, I've never been a fan of poetry. I always thought it was boring, confusing, and a hard way to make a living. But today, I read a poem that opened my eyes to what the art of poetry can mean. As an artist, I use my paints, paint brush, and canvas as my outlet for what I'm feeling. Poets and authors do the same thing, except with words. They write their feelings down. Now this particular poem was written by one of my dear friends, who shall remain unnamed, and before reading it we had been talking a lot about relationships, and boys, and emotions, and boys, and gossip, and boys. You know, typical teenage girl stuff. And I, having next to no dating experience, was giving her advice on how to deal with jealousy and crushes and suspicious friends, and stuff. But, you never really know how they're feeling. Simple conversations through Facebook are not enough to really understand someone, and give them the kind of advice they will actually take. That's where the poetry comes in. This poem described with such beauty and imagination how she was feeling. And how I'm sure a lot of teenage girls might feel at some point. What surprised me was my reaction to the poem. I was speechless, in awe, astounded that my friend, who I've known for 4 years, had written these words that flowed together so seamlessly to tell a story of emotions so jumbled together it's indescribable sometimes. I've had the same reaction to countless paintings and other visual works of art, but I had never thought poetry could evoke the same reaction in me. I had also never seen this part of my friend before. I had known she was a caring, thoughtful, selfless, intelligent, sometimes self-concious person but until recently, I didn't know we had so much in common. Or that she was such a talented poet. So the lesson of today's post is: listen and learn more about your friends, be observant, be open, be there for them. Give advice that they may not take, talk to them like it's the last time you ever will, show them you appreciate what they've done for you (even if all they do is give you back massages), and above all else, read their poetry. Because chances are, it's awesome. Sincerely, Sam

P.S. If you would like to read this amazing poem that I've been raving about, it just so happens to be posted on her blog! So go read it, and continue reading her posts because I have a feeling we will be hearing her name at her next book signing!

Visit her blog here:
http://thechartreuseball.blogspot.ca